Works Originally Created before January 1, 1978, But Not Published or
Registered by That Date
These works have been automatically brought under the statute and are
now given federal copyright protection. The duration of copyright in
these works will generally be computed in the same way as for works
created on or after January 1, 1978: the life-plus-70 or 95/120-year
terms will apply to them as well. The law provides that in no case will
the term of copyright for works in this category expire before December
31, 2002, and for works published on or before December 31, 2002, the
term of copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047.
Works Originally Created and Published or Registered before January 1,
1978
Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the
date a work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of
registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either
case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the date
it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the
copyright was eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended
the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting
on January 1, 1978, or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these works eligible for a
total term of protection of 75 years.
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